Development 18 24 months

Test-driven development (TDD) is the practice of writing automated tests for a piece of code before writing the code itself. In this blog post, I’m going to explain how my colleagues and I used TDD for making games (with code snippets), as well as what went well and what didn’t. TDD is not a fix-all, but we definitely learned a lot and became better developers as a result. We used Unity Test Runner in our project, which is a system for writing and executing NUnit tests in Unity. The usual workflow for TDD is as follows: First, you determine what the code will do. Let’s say that the code sets the value of codeHasRun from false to true. Next, you write a test that checks that the code has done its job. In this case, the test would check that codeHasRun equals true. Run the test. The test should fail because the code hasn’t been written yet. If the test doesn’t fail, there’s something wrong with the test, or with your understanding of the code. Write … [Read more...] about Testing Test-Driven Development with the Unity Test Runner – Unity Blog

GOOGLE'S most powerful smartphone ever is now available for a measly £23 per month with this deal. We've tracked down one of the cheapest ways to buy the hugely popular Google Pixel 2 XL, saving you loads of money in the process. Online retailer Mobiles.co.uk is flogging the Pixel 2 XL for just £23 per month on a 24-month contract with Vodafone. That nets you 4GB of data to use every month, plus unlimited minutes and texts. There's a £120 upfront fee, but this contract is still incredibly cheap. The total cost of the contract is £672, which is less than the £759 SIM-free price of the Google Pixel 2 XL. Google Pixel 2 XL on Vodafone for £23 per month – buy now Plus, you're getting calls, texts and 4GB of data per month, which means you're actually saving even more money. The closest SIM-only Vodafone plan gets you 5GB of data for £14.50 a month (with just 500 minutes). That would add an additional £348 onto the price of a £759 Google … [Read more...] about This Google Pixel 2 XL deal for £23 per month is CHEAPER than buying the phone outright

Nightdive Studios’ remake of System Shock has been put on hiatus, according to a company statement obtained by Polygon and due to be sent to Kickstarter backers today. The game had been funded by a $1.35 million Kickstarter campaign that attracted 21,625 backers. In the statement from Nightdive, CEO Stephen Kick wrote, “I have put the team on a hiatus while we reassess our path so that we can return to our vision. We are taking a break, but not ending the project. System Shock is going to be completed and all of our promises fulfilled.” The Kickstarter campaign took place in the summer of 2016. Nightdive was giving progress updates to backers as recently as January, when the studio posted a concept art video. The game was originally scheduled to be released at the end of 2017. A source familiar with the project, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Polygon that “mission creep” and unrealistic ambitions had eaten up the Kickstarter funds, something … [Read more...] about System Shock reboot that raised $1.3M on Kickstarter is now on ‘hiatus’

The New York Yankees weren’t the first sports team to don pinstripes, but the distinctive pattern is as closely associated with the baseball club as it is with boardroom suits. The Yankees’ home uniform, a simple design featuring thin navy stripes on a white background, is an enduring classic: It has barely changed in more than a century. Basic though it is, the pinstriped design presents some challenges for the makers of baseball video games. In the kind of discussion that happens all the time at studios working on sports titles, the developers of R.B.I. Baseball at Major League Baseball Advanced Media were debating last fall how best to bring the Yankees’ uniform to life in the game. Areas where the pinstripes met a seam didn’t look quite right, so the team fetched some nearby reference material. “We walked down the hall to Billy, who does all of our merchandise stuff — he manages the shop, he gets all the jerseys through,” recalls Peter … [Read more...] about Exclusive: Why MLB decided to develop R.B.I. Baseball 18 itself

Developer Red Hook Studios has announced that its superb turn-based misery generator Darkest Dungeon is heading to the Switch eShop on January 18th. Darkest Dungeon is gloomy turn-based dungeon crawler with a striking art style and a heavy emphasis on unspeakable, otherworldly Lovecraftian horror. As you explore the dungeons and catacombs beneath your dilapidated manor, and the terrible lands around it, you'll encounter and battle ever-more unsettling sights. Using your party members' class-based skills to reach the end of a dungeon is only half of the battle, however; once you're back in the relative safety of the village beyond the manor gates, you'll need to aid your party's recovering from stress or sickness or insanity by catering to their particular whims - perhaps leaving them to a period of self-flagellation at the abbey, or to drinking and whoring at the local tavern - while you face more antediluvian horrors with the remainder of your crew. It's a tough, punishing, and … [Read more...] about Darkest Dungeon is bringing turn-based misery to Switch later this month